Student Spotlight: Peggy Moran

Peggy MoranAnthropology

Peggy Moran dropped out of high school to start a successful dog training business.From
there she became a writer and editor for Dog World magazine and a behavioral consultant
for the American Dog Owners Association, in addition to self-educating herself on
a variety of topics along the way.

But she always told her two daughters to take advantage of educational resources available
to them, and she was motivated by their success in college.

“Seeing their horizontal and vertical growth at school, I always wondered what I had
missed,” she said. “I am so proud of them, and I wanted them to feel that same pride
about me.”

In 2008, her youngest daughter nearly died from a serious health condition. It changed
Moran’s perspective, and on a whim she stopped by College of DuPage to find out about
completing the GED.

"I looked upon my education as a lack of a personal best,” she said. “I had unfinished
business to address.”

Moran completed her GED with high honors and immediately signed up classes at COD.
For four straight semesters, she has enrolled as a full-time student and earned straight
A’s. She then received the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship,
the largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students
in the country. JKCF annually awards scholarships of up to $30,000 to deserving students
to cover a significant share of their educational expenses, including tuition, room
and board, books, and fees for the final two or three years necessary for them to
obtain a bachelor’s degree.

Moran was one of only 40 students selected in 2010 nationwide to receive the scholarship
and was the fourth COD recipient in the school’s history.

In his recommendation letter for the scholarship, Michael Dietz, Associate Professor
of Anthropology at COD, praised Moran’s intelligence and motivation.

“She is diligent in her preparation and constantly attempts to critically evaluate
the material presented in class and to apply it to the larger field of anthropology
and to her work in animal training,” he wrote. “She is the type of student that professors
love to have in class.”

Moran transferred to North Central College, where she graduated summa cum laude with
an individualized major in anthrozoology (human-nonhuman animal studies). She also
was awarded another Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship, the "Continuing Scholar
Graduate Award," which she is using for a hybrid program (one week at the school per
term, with the rest of her studies done from home) through Canisius College in Buffalo,
N.Y., to obtain a master's degree in Anthrozoology.

She is grateful to College of DuPage for preparing her for her educational success.

“When I came to COD, I thought I would feel odd about returning to college at my age
or that I would not be supported by my traditional-aged student peers,” she said.
“But it’s been just the opposite. I forgot about my age and just focused on learning.

“I’m proof that at any age a person can redefine herself. With help from the community
here at College of DuPage, I’ve been able to express myself in ways I never felt possible.”

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